A total of 9,009 artisans and taxi drivers, Keke-NAPEP operators and motorcycles drivers (Okada) will benefit from the N30, 000 COVID-19 grant under the Nigeria Economic Sustainable Plan (NESP) Survival Fund introduced by the federal government.
Speaking during a Town Hall meeting in Bauchi, Director -General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dikko Radda, told participants that the president has approved the NESP to cushion the effects of COVID-19 on the economic activities on two MSME scheme including the Guarantee off-take and the Survival fund.
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“What we have come to interact with you today is the artisans and transport scheme and to explain how you can benefit as associations and union members.”
Represented by Northeast Zonal Coordinator of SMEDAN, Isa Mahmoud Doguwa, Radda called on tailors, cart pushers, barbers, plumbers, shoemakers, electricians, hairdressers and other trade association and unions to take advantage of the scheme.
“It is absolutely free, do not pay anyone to benefit, your money is N30,000 and it will go directly into your bank account. If you don’t have an account, now is the time to open one, you are not paying anyone back any money, it is FG’s support to you for what COVID-19 has done to your business.
“The programme was essentially to provide 333,000 artisans and transport business operators with a N30,000 operations grant to reduce the effect of income loss during the COVID-19 pandemic and its resultant lockdown,” he said.
He noted that the scheme and other schemes under the survival fund initiative are entirely free adding, “Very soon the off-take stimulus scheme will also be rolled out and a number of your members will benefit accordingly.”
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